by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTE - There was a sense of inevitability Sunday, and throughout the season. It seemed that the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks were meant to be the final teams standing in the NFC, and now they are.

The 49ers joined the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game with a 23-10 division-round elimination of the Carolina Panthers.

After splitting their regular-season meetings, the top-seeded Seahawks will play host to the defending-NFC champion 49ers Sunday.

"We're the teams that everybody was looking at from the beginning," said 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who threw for one touchdown and rushed for another. "It's going to be a knockdown, drag-out game.

"This is a different situation. We have to go out there and win.

"We're one step closer to where we want to be."

Jim Harbaugh's team is driven by a sense of unfinished business after losing Super Bowl XLVII to the Baltimore Ravens. The 49ers have now reached the NFC Championship game in each of Harbaugh's three years as coach and crave that Lombardi Trophy breakthrough for a proud franchise that counts five Super Bowl titles.

Despite winning eight consecutive games heading into Sunday's heavyweight title sequel with the Seahawks, the 49ers know they have to raise their level of physicality beyond what they showed in their taunt-filled victory over the Panthers, who beat them 10-9 on Nov. 10.

The 49ers insist they are a much-improved team from the one that was embarrassed in Seattle 29-3 on Sept. 15.

"We know it's going to be a dogfight, but we're built for this," said tailback Frank Gore, who finished with 84 yards on 17 carries Sunday. "We didn't finish last year. Now we are back. We are healthy. And we are a great team. We are willing to do whatever it takes to get this ring.

"We are playing great ball."

The rugged 49ers took a 13-10 lead with five second left in the first half on Kaepernick's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis.

Then they took their first possession of the second half and went 77 yards on eight plays, with Kaepernick bolting four yards into the end zone.

Kaepernick, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 196 yards, raised his record to 4-1 in playoff starts and 3-0 on the road in postseason.

After that scoring run, he turned to Panthers fans in the end zone and mimicked quarterback Cam Newton's "Superman" celebration.

"Just a little shout out,'' Kaepernick said.

To whom?

"I think you know the answer to that," the third-year quarterback said.

Newton had his moments. He ignited the crowd with a 31-yard touchdown strike to veteran receiver Steve Smith, who was listed as questionable with a sprained knee .

Smith didn't look limited when he raced past cornerback Tarell Brown to put the Panthers up 7-6 early in the second quarter.

Graham Gano's 24-yard field goal made it 10-6 after the 49ers' third-ranked scoring defense rose up to stop the Panthers for a second time at the 1-yard line.

Newton rushed for 54 yards and threw for 267 yards and one touchdown but was intercepted twice and sacked five times.

"I had a coach tell me right after the game, 'It was a bad ending to a great season.' He was right," Newton said. "We didn't make enough plays. And we will be better from this."

Playing in their first postseason contest in five seasons, coach Ron Rivera's team melted down with eight penalties that cost them 73 yards.

"Our guys played smart," said receiver Anquan Boldin, who had a game-high eight catches for 136 yards. "We played right up to their edge. We saw their guys taking swings. That was stupid."

Now the 49ers can't wait to take their best shot against their NFC West rivals.

"Oh, it's going to be very chippy, that's just playoff football," guard Alex Boone said. "We see each other a lot, two great teams that are well-coached.

"Somewhere somebody was looking out over us. Going into their house, it's going to be tough, a lot of fun."